Hall continues to fund campaign out of own pocket

Mayor Annise Parker's fundraising momentum continued apace in October, with the two-term incumbent entering the final days of the campaign with more cash on hand than she had in late September, filings released Monday show.

Meanwhile, top challenger Ben Hall entered the homestretch with just $28,000 on hand and continued to pay most of his campaign's expenses himself.

Parker brought in about $574,000 for the Sept. 27-to-Oct. 26 reporting period, spending about $955,500; she entered this week with $1.2 million in the bank, despite saturating TV and radio airwaves in recent weeks with ads attacking Hall.

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Hall spent about $292,000 out-of-pocket while gathering about $77,300 in contributions. In all, Hall has funded more than 80 percent of his $3 million campaign, much of that a personal loan he did not add to during the period.

"We're gratified that so many Houstonians recognize what Annise Parker has done for this city, pulling it out of recession into the hottest economy in the country," Parker campaign spokeswoman Sue Davis said. "Mayor Parker loves this city, and it's obvious this city loves her."

The Hall campaign declined comment.

"He clearly has made a decision that he's put all he's going to put into the race and that his campaign is going to sink or swim based on what he's put in thus far," said Rice University political scientist Mark Jones. "The strategy was, if he seeded it with his own money, he'd be able to demonstrate credibility and that would attract money from outside donors. It's clear that money never arrived."

He added, "If you have no money, the only thing you can do is try to obtain some earned media coverage, and you do that by calling press conferences and staging events and hoping the media shows up. This is the point in the campaign where you should be up on open-air TV, and the Hall campaign is noticeably absent."

Hall sought free media coverage on Monday with a news conference renewing his call for a property tax cut as part of a five-point plan for Houston's economic growth.

Calling himself a friend of business, Hall reiterated a key criticism of Parker, saying she has created a hostile environment for businesses.

"Her strategy has been largely to charge every conceivable fee, increase every possible license charge, hike taxes in order to drive city revenue," he said, noting the Houston region has grown far faster than the city itself in recent years. "If we stay on this path and continue this business-as-usual strategy, we will encourage more businesses to continue to grow outside the city."

Tax cut pledged

Hall pledged to cut city property taxes by 2 cents, from about 64 cents per $100 of assessed value to 62 cents, to proactively offer incentives to businesses, to streamline regulations and reduce fees, to prioritize economic development activities in underserved areas and to improve the use of technology to aid businesses; Hall said all permits that can be applied for and received online, for instance, should be.

Jones and University of Houston political scientist Brandon Rottinghaus agreed that Hall's call for tax cuts and advertisements in conservative newsletters alone are unlikely to garner the overwhelming support he would need from conservatives to succeed.

"That's a drop in the bucket compared to the kinds of issues he could be focusing on and the type of voter that's likely to support him," Rottinghaus said. "I don't think they can count on that to push a runoff."

Policy questioned

Davis said the mayor's record on economic development speaks for itself.

"Under her leadership, Houston is creating more jobs than anywhere else in America," Davis said. "Hall's 'plan' would put public safety at risk by cutting the revenue that pays for police and fire and lead to gentrification that displaces seniors and working families from their homes."

The Parker campaign repeatedly has said the mayor has not raised property taxes and has said the city's raised more than 150 fees to help it recoup the cost of delivering services, as allowed by state law.

"There is no question the city has the right to recoup its costs, but whether it's good policy to do so is the more pressing inquiry," Hall said.